Print book, ebook, or both?

I help writers publish books in both print and ebook formats. But I’ll admit: I have a strong preference for print.

That’s because I find it easier to read print books than ebooks–despite all the fuss about resizable text. I read mostly at night, and that iPad screen does indeed disrupt my sleep rhythms.

There’s something about a well-crafted interior that adds pleasure to my reading, too. (I just checked out from the library a large-type version of Geraldine Brook’s Pulitzer-prize-winning book March and found the huge, clunky print horrifying against such a beautifully written story.)

And as it turns out, a new scientific study backs up my preference. A summary of that study on Mic.com reports that recall is better among people who read print vs. ebooks.

“The brain reads by constructing a mental representation of the text based on the placement of the page in the book and the word on the page. [And] the tactile experience of a book aids this process, from the thickness of the pages in your hands as you progress through the story to the placement of a word on the page.”

So do I buy ebooks, too. Yes. Plenty. Here’s why:

Ebooks cost less, so I can sample more.

Ebooks allow me to search content–great for nonfiction titles.

I can easily add audio and have the book in my ear when I’m doing other things.

This may be why 98% of the writers with whom I work end up publishing in both print and ebook formats.